Tuesday 5 August 2025
NATIONAL ACTION ON PACKAGING LIFECYCLE MUST BE A PRIORITY
Environment and industry groups have joined forces to urge the new federal Minister for Environment, Murray Watt to take urgent action to complete consultations and gazettal of a mandatory producer responsibility scheme to apply obligations and targets across the life cycle of packaging, including for soft plastics.
While we welcome the Minister’s recent undertaking in the Senate to act in this term, time isof the essence.*
Such a scheme will tackle the millions of tonnes of packaging that currently has limitedAustralian end markets and advance the circular economy which is a key component of
improving the productivity of the Australian economy, the groups said.
Australia has joined the high ambition group for the global plastic treaty talks beginning today in Geneva and we expect high ambition at home. This is eminently possible with such a broad range of support and we are ready to work with the government to make Australia a world leader.
Jeff Angel, Director of the Boomerang Alliance of 56 NGOs said: “When such a diverse group gets together on an issue, it means the problem is big and urgent and government can have the confidence it can quickly move ahead in a substantial way.”
Sarah Collier, Director, Sustainability, AFGC said: “Clear and consistent policy, anchored by a nationally coordinated approach to product stewardship and the recycling value chain, is essential to transitioning the food and grocery sector to a circular economy.”
Gayle Sloan, CEO of WMRR said: “More than two years after Environment Ministers committed to regulating packaging to reduce waste and harmful chemicals, action is
overdue. We urge the new Minister to lead by implementing a mandatory, industry-funded packaging scheme with independent oversight-one that cuts reliance on virgin materials, eliminates unrecoverable waste, and supports Australian job creation.”
Barry Cosier, Co-CEO of SPSA said: “To maximise circularity of packaging, a national packaging and recycling policy framework together with consistent design and recycling
standards across the value chain are essential.”
Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of ACOR said: “Packaging reform is not just an environmental imperative — it’s a structural economic opportunity to realise the full potential of a circular economy for packaging. This means mandating design standards, addressing the real cost of recycling, rewarding the use of recycled materials, and bringing consistency to a fragmented system.”
Chris Foley, CEO of APCO said: ‘’Extensive consultations have underscored the establishment of an industry-led Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, improvements to recovery infrastructure, and stronger end-market incentives as key priorities to achieving the National Packaging Targets (NPTs) and a circular economy. Concurrent, timely confirmation of national packaging design standards and recycled content mandates by the Government would maximise the impact of these initiatives, sustaining progress towards the Targets.”
* Hon Murray Watt (Senate Hansard, 30/6/25): “Plastic pollution is a global problem and it's going to need global solutions. But we are, in the meantime, getting on with work domestically”. “We will be doing more over the course of this term in partnership with the states and territories.”